Tuesday, 13 August 2013

Tips To Streamline You Subscription Billing

By Susan Bapsnill


So you have heard about subscription billing, but think it's only for big enterprise level businesses. Did you know that you can add subscription billing to your SMME to improve your cash-flow and give your clients a truly hassle-free method to pay? Before we look at how subscription billing can benefit your business, let me walk you through a simple definition of what subscription billing actually is:

Ask yourself, what is subscription billing? Recurring billing is used by businesses to charge customers a specified amount more than once. The amount can differ, but is usually the same on every recurrence and the term on which the debit is submitted can recur on any frequency e.g. weekly, monthly, annually etc. Charges can be submitted to your credit card, bank account or account with a payment gateway.

So now that we have established what it is, let's find out how subscription billing can assist your business:

Keeping your cash-flow healthy

Recurring billing is not just for large corporate or enterprise type businesses. You as a small business owner or freelancer can also implement recurring billing procedures in your business at a surprising low cost. Subscription billing for the SMME really does pay off.

Implementing subscription billing in your SMME means improved cash-flow due to collection via debit order or automated monthly deduction. Most small businesses or freelancers allow their clients to pay via bank deposit or electronic funds transfer only. This means that your clients have the control over when they pay you. Sometimes resulting in haphazard small payments or even worse, late payments.

This means you are uncertain of your cash-flow. This in turn leads to you not being able to plan ahead. Not being able to project what your income will look like over the next few months will prevent you from being able to schedule your own debits and plan the growth of your business.

Don't forget to remember

Subscription billing allows you to control when you get paid. It's easy, when custolmers sign up you specify the debit amount and recurrence. Then sit back and relax and you see funds being automatically debited on the dates specified. This means no more late payment or waiting for urgently needed funds to clear. You now know precisely when you are going to get paid.

Reduce administration

Payment gateways that facilitate recurring payments usually offer automatic account recon or provide bulk reconciliation files that allow simple and accurate resolution of client payments. This in turn translates to huge savings in time and money on your side. No need to employ a large amount of staff members to collect payment and control recon, save money. Your clients will also thank you for this because they save time. They don't have to worry about going through to the bank to make manual payment, recurring billing automatically takes care of their payment when it's due.

Wow, that sounds great! But how do I get started? Signing up for a payment gateway and payment facilitating system is step one. Find a gateway with competitive fees and a facilitator that enables automatic account recon.




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